Halloween pumpkin shortage warning after 'horrendous' summer drought

UK farmers have warned of a potential pumpkin shortage this Halloween after a summer drought left crops much smaller

Britons gearing up for Halloween have been cautioned that a potential shortage could throw a spanner in the works following a "horrendous" summer. Farmers across the UK have warned that pumpkin patches have taken a serious hit from this year's drought, with numerous crops failing to thrive and remaining considerably smaller than usual.

The summer brought widespread drought conditions and multiple heatwaves, with the Met Office confirming it as the warmest on record in the UK. Liz Paterson and Andrew King, who operate a pumpkin patch at Ruffins Farm in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, have been unable to sell any of their harvest this year due to the adverse weather conditions.

Ms Paterson told the Press Association: "The pumpkins just didn't grow this year. We could have tried to irrigate, we have got water, but we also have 500 breeding ewes, so we needed to give the water to them." While they've typically cultivated approximately 10,000 pumpkins in past seasons, this year yielded just 50.

She explained that the drought has been "horrendous for us financially but also emotionally because the grass didn't grow either for our sheep". "Because of the drought, we were struggling to feed or sheep and the pumpkins didn't grow at all, so it was really upsetting and worrying," she said, reports the Express.

British farmers are concerned the El Niño weather pattern could bring about another drought next year, with Ms Paterson and Mr King potentially compelled to make "big decisions" as a consequence. "But because the public know us for pumpkins and love them so much, we will spend the money on buying the seed, and we will drill the pumpkin patch again," Ms Paterson said.

"But if this doesn't work, then we'll have to start thinking this climate doesn't work for pumpkins," she continued. "What else can we do?" Niall Smith, who operates at Picking Patch in the New Forest, also revealed it was "the second summer where we've had real water problems".

In contrast to previous years, the enterprise has been obliged to request a local family farm to cultivate pumpkins for their Halloween festivities. He added: "We managed to get some pumpkins, but I mean, the biggest one is 50%, 60% smaller than what our normal sizes are.

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"And so we've kind of reimagined what we do. We have a pumpkin market, it all looks very pretty, but then we've gone very much into Halloween activities, and we're not just a pick-your-own site."

Mr Smith stated pumpkins are "a lot smaller" throughout the nation this year. "I know there's lots of patches that have got very, very disappointing crops, and by half term they'll be out," he added.

"There's no stock. You know, in normal years, if we need to, we can call up and find 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 pumpkins. This year, there's not a chance."

Exeter-based farmer Ross Wright has revealed that the country is experiencing a nationwide shortage of pumpkins, particularly larger varieties. "We're just going to have to grow more acres to get the pumpkins we need for Halloween every year," he said.